Sberbank CEO Gref Sees No Possibility of Russian Revolution

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Russia isn’t in danger of a
revolution from demonstrations against alleged fraud in
parliamentary elections last month and the government is “on
the right track” in responding to them, the head of the
country’s biggest bank said.

Demands from opposition politicians and former Finance
Minister Alexei Kudrin for new elections aren’t “rational,”
Gref said, adding he has no plans to return to government.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, 59, is facing the biggest
challenge to his 12-year rule after tens of thousands of
protesters took to the streets to challenge December’s election,
which his ruling United Russia party won. More than 16,600 have
indicated they will attend the next Moscow demonstration on Feb.
4, according to the organizers’ Facebook Inc. page. Putin plans
to return as president through a March 4 vote.

President Dmitry Medvedev last month proposed legislation
to make it easier to register parties and run for president. The
changes will take full effect in 2016 and 2018, when the next
parliamentary and presidential elections are scheduled.

‘Expanding Freedoms’

“Russia’s growth over the next decades means expanding
freedoms for each of us,” Putin wrote in a Jan. 16 article in
the Izvestia newspaper and posted on his website.

Russia would like to see Europe’s economic situation
stabilize, Gref said, adding that the nation should offer
assistance regardless of its domestic political cycle. Unlike
Europe, Russia hasn’t reached the limit of its consumption and
can help stoke demand as developed economies struggle, he said.

Even as the euro region grapples with a sovereign-debt
crisis, there’s “nothing dangerous” for the ruble, Gref said.

Russia should support more funding for the International
Monetary Fund, Gref said. “Stabilization of the situation in
Europe is absolutely in Russia’s interest,” he said

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Jan. 17 her
staff is studying options to increase the Washington-based
fund’s war-chest. The lender is pushing China, Brazil, Russia,
India, Japan and oil-exporting nations to be the top
contributors, according to a Group of 20 official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

Medvedev said Dec. 15 in Brussels that Russia is prepared
to consider aid measures for the European Union in addition to
its existing commitment to the IMF. On Oct. 31, a presidential
adviser, Arkady Dvorkovich, said Russia was prepared to make as
much as $10 billion available.